Changing the Course of Destiny
by inu-kokoro
Summary: Hermione travels back in time using a timeturner, but what happens when she accidentally switches a highly important setting? Who is that boy who looks uncannily like Remus Lupin! [on hiatus]
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** This is a new idea for a fan fiction that I've been working on (at two a.m.) so we'll see how you like it. I realize that Remus is not in the Prologue, but he will appear in the first chapter.

**Summary:** Hermione travels back in time using a time-turner, but what happens when she accidentally switches a highly important setting? Who /is/ that boy who looks uncannily like Remus Lupin?!

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Prologue **

"I'm glad all of you could make it here for the first D.A. meeting of the year," Harry said to the members of 'Dumbledore's Army'. He paused, feeling uncomfortable. Public speaking had never been his favourite pastime. "I thought that it might be useful to review the past spells we've done; seeing as over the summer we couldn't practice." Everyone nodded, save for Zacharias Smith who rolled his eyes. "Right then. So I guess you lot should pair off and work on '_Stupefy_'."

There was the general commotion as everyone paired off and spread out, then started to practice the stunning spell. Harry found himself paired up with Neville, as always. After being stunned several times in quick succession, it was blatant that Neville had not lost his talent over the summer. If anyone, it was Ron who had gotten worse; his target (Hermione) was often missed, sending numerous volumes of 'Defense for Dummies' to the floor.

"Good Lord, Ron! Do I have to run _into_ your spell for you to succeed?!" Hermione cried exasperatedly. Ron scowled at her and continued shouting the spell, sending 'Incantations for Idiots' to the pile of books. After several more futile attempts to stun Hermione, he hit her.

"I did it! Yes! Harry, I stunned Hermio-" Ron stopped mid-word, his head whipping in the general direction of the door. The half of the secret organization that weren't currently stunned did the same. The door's knob had turned and the door creaked open.

"Look what we've got here," The sneering voice that belonged to none-other-than Draco Malfoy said. "Potty, Weasel, and Mudblood with company." A hand appeared on Draco's shoulder. The hand that belonged to-

"Well done, Draco." Lucius Malfoy said quietly, though no one in the room had to strain to hear his voice. "I told you, Mr. Fudge that there was a group of rebel students. No doubt they were practicing in hopes to overthrow your Ministry." He addressed the Minister, silkily.

"Thank you, Lucius, Draco. Umbridge, Ibotson. Round these students up." The Minister ordered with triumph ringing in his voice. "Be careful, though. We don't want any '_accidents_', do we?"

Dolores Umbridge and Ian Ibotson both stepped into the Room of Requirement; their wands up, ready to attack. All of the D.A. tensed at seeing Dolores Umbridge again. They were all under the impression that she had been so traumatized she could not return to work. Several minutes of silence passed along with several glances at Harry, as if questioning what to do. Umbridge and Ibotson advanced, opening their mouths to cast a spell.

"_Stup-_"

"_Imobu_-"

"_Stupefy!_" Neville shouted, the spell shooting out of his wand and hitting Ibotson squarely between the eyes. The adult wizard's eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled like a piece of newspaper burning in the fire.

"Ian!" Umbridge shouted, her concentration broken as she gave a quick glance in his direction; though she was not feeling compassion for her fellow man, she was afraid that she might get hit without anyone to back her up.

"_Petrificus To-_" Hermione started to say, but was cut off as Draco silenced her using '_Silencio_', then stupefying her.

By then, assorted spells were being rapidly cast by both sides. Hermione watched helplessly as her friends fought against the enemies. Hopelessness enveloped her heart as several more Aurors appeared and more and more of her friends were hit. Finally, only Harry and Neville remained, but both were obviously lacking energy. Neville was hit from behind with '_Imobulus_' and fell – face flat – on the ground. Harry, outnumbered by six-to-one, fell next. But before he did, he uttered one last thing,

"Time turn-"

Feeling rushed back into Hermione ('_Stupefy_' was only temporary), but she didn't move until the Ministry Officials, Draco, and Malfoy Senior had started hauling bodies off to an unknown destination. When Hermione was certain that she was alone, she pulled out the time turner and began turning it.

"And what do you think you're doing, Granger?!" Draco shouted, dashing over to Hermione. Her fingers slipped and she let out a little cry, but she finished turning the device and disappeared.

Little did she know that she had accidentally switched a highly important setting… A setting that could change the course of destiny.

**Author's Note:** Reviews are appreciated greatly, flames are also welcome.


	2. New Student

**Author's Note:** Ah, the first chapter… Reviews and flames appreciated!

**Thank you: **fireyoukaivixen

Changing the Course of Destiny

_Chapter One_

Once the world had stopped spinning, Hermione stood up, brushing herself off and tucking the time-turner back into her robes. The Room of Requirement was the same as it had been before she went back in time, except everyone else had vanished. _I've got to warn them about the attack._ She thought, opening the door and stepping into the deserted corridor. _We should be in the library now._ With that last thought, she headed in the direction of the library.

When she reached her destination, she continued onwards to the back where she, Ron, and Harry had always searched for new spells. Hermione was surprised when she found a boy sitting at the table and not Harry and Ron. A scowl flickered across her face at this. Surely she had gone back far enough…? The boy looked up at her and she let out a gasp.

"Hello… Are you lost or something?" He inquired.

"No, no. I just thought I would find… Who _are_ you?" Hermione blurted out. For some strange reason he reminded her of her Third year Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. Well, only younger. Much younger. And the state of his robes wasn't as bad as they were on her old Professor. But surely she was just imagining things. This couldn't be Professor Lupin – she'd only gone back about four hours in time.

"I'm Remus Lupin. I haven't seen you aren't here… You are?"

"Shit!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. "How did _this_ happen?!" Hastily, she pulled out the time-turner, looking over it. Several minutes passed before she located the problem. The setting had changed from 'hours' to… 'Decades'. "How could I have been so _careless_?" An insane urge to throw something came over her and she looked over at Remus and saw him looking at the device.

"Is that a time turner?" He asked keenly and stood up.

"Yes, it is." She replied stiffly. "Do you by any chance know the password to Dumbledore's office, Professor?"

"Professor? Me? You've got to be joking. By the looks of it, I'm your age." He grinned and shook his head. Boy was this girl ever confused. "And yeah, I do know the password to Dumbledore's office."

"Shit!" She cried out once more. Professor McGonagall had told her that it was extremely hazardous to mess with the past. This was not good at all. "Oh, um… Could you please tell me?"

"Why don't you first tell me your name and why you need to see him?" Remus leaned against a book case, folding his arms across his chest. Who knew what this nut case who called him a Professor would do to Dumbledore?

"Sorry. I'm-" She stopped speaking. If she told Remus who she really was, this would undoubtedly create large problems in the future. _Think, Hermione, think!_ She urged herself on, trying to find a name. He raised an eyebrow. Had she forgotten her name or something…? "I'm Amy and I'm here because…" She couldn't tell him the real reason why she was here, either. "Well, I got… I… I got lost."

"Mmhmm." Remus grunted, almost disbelievingly. "So you want me to take you to Dumbledore's office, right Amy?" Even if this girl was completely out of her mind, he couldn't help but notice that she was pretty. No, not pretty. Exquisite. Hermione shifted uncomfortably as she felt Remus' eyes quickly look over her.

"Yes please. It is a matter of utmost importance." She confirmed with a nod.

"Follow me." He replied, standing up straight and walking out of the library. She followed him, trying to keep out of sight of the other students. They walked in silence until they reached out of the library and half way down the hall. He turned left, leading her down a completely deserted corridor. Hermione was a little surprised to find that the same gargoyles that guarded Dumbledore's office in the present day were there.

"Password?" The right one hissed, leaping forward and towering over Remus. Hermione took a step backwards. Remus, however, did not budge and remained calm and collected.

"Sugar Quill." He stated clearly, and the gargoyle leapt back. The door opened, revealing stairs that spiraled up to Dumbledore's office. "Come on." Remus said, guiding her onto the stairs and then stepping on also. The stairs gave a sudden lurch and started swirling upwards. Once they stopped they both found themselves looking at a wooden door. Remus reached forward and knocked twice.

The door opened after a couple minutes, revealing a considerably younger looking Dumbledore.

"Mr. Lupin. What can I do for you?"

"Sir, I am sorry to bother you. This young lady said that it was of 'utmost importance' to see you as soon as possible." He gestured to Hermione, who stepped forward.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin. You may go back to your previous activity while I have a chat with Miss Granger." Hermione stepped off the stair-case, and it swirled back down, taking Remus with it. "Follow me, Miss Granger." The Headmaster said, turning around and going back into his office. She followed obediently. "Why don't you take a seat?" He asked, gesturing towards a chair. Hermione sat down.

"Thank you sir."

"Now, what did you need to tell me?"

"Sir, I made a terrible error." She paused and pulled out her time-turner. "You see, the D.A. was practicing and we were ambushed by Ministry Officials. There was a quarrel in which all the members were stunned and taken away somewhere. Before Harry got hit, he said 'time turner'. The stunning spell that had been placed upon myself by Draco Malfoy had worn off and I pulled out that," Hermione pointed to the time-turner. "and I used it. However, when I was turning it Malfoy saw me and yelled. My fingers slipped and I accidentally changed the setting from 'hours' to 'decades'. So… Here I am now."

"That is quite a story, Hermione." Dumbledore replied, picking up the time-turner. "I will need to inform Professor McGonagall and the rest of the staff of this misfortune. You will be added to the Gryffindor house and you will be given your schedule tomorrow. I am sorry, but I do not know of a way that you can return to the future right now. I assume you do not know any ways, either?"

"Yes." Hermione replied, sadly.

"I also assume that Mr. Lupin does not know your real name, does he?"

"No, sir. He knows me as Amy."

"That was smart on your part. Do not let anyone discover your true identity. Is that clear?" She nodded. "If anyone does, please come and see me. As for your cover… You are Amy Elizabeth Granger and you have transferred here after being home-schooled for the first five years. Now run along. I am sure you want to research ways to return to the future in the library." He stood up and Hermione followed suit. The door leading out of his office opened.

"Thank you, Professor." She said. The Headmaster held out the time-turner and she took it from him, tucking it back into her pocket.

"If you have any problems, please feel free to see me."

"Yes sir." She turned and walked out of the office, then stepped onto the stairs. Almost instantly, they began to swirl back down. Once they stopped she walked out the second door, which sealed itself instantly after she exited. "Great, just great." She muttered, starting off towards the library.

"Amy." She turned and saw Remus Lupin watching her, leaning against the cold, stone wall.

"Hello, Remus." 'Amy' replied.

"Do you need help with anything? You're a new student here, right?" He asked her, standing up straight and taking a few steps closer. Remus was 5'8" to her 5'3", so she had to look up at him.

"Yeah, I am. I was home-schooled until now. And… Well, this is a really silly question. But do you know of any spells or anything that could take a person to the future?"

"No, I don't. Sorry. Listen, it's almost dinner time. We should get to the Great Hall."

"Oh, you're right. I suppose we should then." She turned in the direction of the Great Hall and took a few steps, but then remembered she was supposed to be a new student. New students did not know where everything was. _Shit._ She thought. "Oh, um. Do you know where the Great Hall is?"

"Sure I do. Follow me." He looked at her, a little confused. She had just started walking in the direction of the Great Hall. But she was supposed to be a new student. Remus shook his head slightly and then started off towards the Great Hall.

_This is going to be harder than I thought…_ Hermione thought, walking next to Remus.They walked in an awkward silence, but that was shattered when they reached the Gryffindor's table in the Great Hall.

"Moony!" Two raven haired boys shouted as Remus and Hermione entered the enormous room. Remus took a seat next to the one with exceedingly unruly black hair. Hermione nervously took a seat next to the other boy.

"Where have you been?" The boy to Hermione's right demanded, glancing at Hermione with interest.

"And who is _she_?" The other boy asked, pointing to Hermione.

"I've been in the library, Sirius." Remus answered the boy to Hermione's right. _So he's Sirius. I'll remember that._ "James," _And that one is James._ "she's a new student. Her name is Amy."

"It's nice to meet you, Amy." James said to Hermione with a grin. "I'm James. James Potter. The Star of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

"I'm Sirius Black." Sirius told Hermione, picking up her hand and raising it to his lips and placing a little kiss on it. "To what do I owe the honor of meeting you?" A blush crept across her cheeks and she giggled nervously.

"Oh, shut up Sirius." Remus said casually, with a roll of his eyes. "Amy, don't associate yourself with him. He's the resident womanizer."

"Hey, Remus, that's not fair!" Sirius shouted, pouring gravy liberally onto his mashed potatoes. "I'll have you know that I'm still a virgin!"

"Could have fooled me." Remus replied, good naturedly with a grin. "Where's Peter?"

"Oh, Peter? He got held back by one of the Professors. McGonagall, I think. You know, he had some trouble transforming the skunk into a lampshade. His still had black and white stripes on the lampshade when he tried." Sirius told Remus with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"I see." Remus looked over at Hermione. "Why aren't you eating anything? You're not an anorexic, are you?"

"No, no, I'm not. I was just… Deciding on what I wanted to eat." Hermione said quickly and then spooned some mashed potatoes onto her plate. The truth was that she had forgotten to eat because of the conversation. That, and she wasn't very hungry. Time traveling can do that to a person.

"Amy, you look fine the way you are." Remus said seriously, then returned to his plate and started putting food on his also.

"Awww, looks like Moony has a crushie wushie!" Sirius and James chorused together, looking at both Remus and Hermione.

"I do not." Remus half-snapped, but a small blush crept across his cheeks despite his statement. Both Sirius and James shared a look before saying, "Denial." In unison. Hermione blushed a little bit also and turned her full attention to her plate.

* * *

"Checkmate!" James pronounced proudly as Sirius' Queen was decapitated.

"Best two out of three!" Sirius said quickly.

"You're on!"

"Shouldn't you guys be studying?" Remus asked the pair, looking over the top of his essay he was proof reading. "Or at least doing your homework?" Sirius and James looked at each other, before looking at Remus.

"Remus, it's only the first week of school and you're _already_ suggesting that we should study?" James asked, heaving a sigh and mocking seriousness.

"I think he needs to lighten up. What do you think, Amy?"

"Hmm? Oh, um… He does have a point, you know. It'd be a real shame to get in trouble the first week of school."

"This is not good, Sirius. She obviously doesn't know much about us yet."

"We'll just have to show her, then. What do you say, Remus?"

"I say… I say if you guys do your homework, I'll allow it."

"Hold up! Since when are you the boss of me?" Hermione demanded, glaring at Remus. He looked over at her nonchalantly.

"Amy, these boys need to do their homework. Here, I'll ask you. Amy, would you please help me blackmail Sirius and James into doing their homework?"

"Since you asked me so nicely, sure." Hermione replied and then returned to reading a book she had checked out of the library after dinner.

"She's not known us for even four hours and she's already betraying us!" Sirius exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Oh come on, both of you. You know that Remus is right and that you should do your homework." Hermione replied with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, what, precisely, are you planning on showing me?"

"Oh, you'll find out." James replied. "Meet us down here at ten o'clock. Wear dark clothing."

**Author's Note:** Reviews and flames are appreciated!


	3. Problems

**Author's Note:** -blinks- -tears up- All of these reviews have made me _so_ happy!! –loser- Erm, yeah, moving on. I've got about… Five days left until I start school again. (Yuck.) So once school picks up I might not be able to do this chapter-a-day thing I'm trying to do now. I'll try to not make it be really long in between updates, but there's really no guarantee.

**Thank You:** Priscilla Ryu, Artemis MoonClaw, Black-rose23, Rane2920072, Lonelyfairy

LZY- 1. Hermione turned the time-turner around two or three times in the hours setting. Then she turned it two times in the decade setting, so she's roughly 20 years and two or three hours in the past. 2. I am a firm believer that Dumbledore is omniscient. (I probably should have mentioned that. X.x) 3. I picture Professor McGonagall to be about fifty or sixty years old, so that'd make her about thirty of forty. I hope that answers your questions! Thank you for the review!

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Chapter Two**

"Dark clothes." Hermione repeated and a scowl spread across her face. "We're not doing anything… Illegal, are we?"

"Don't worry, Amy. Both James and I assure you that nothing we do will break _any_ of the Ministry's Laws what-so-ever." Sirius replied. Something about the wording of Sirius' answer seemed odd to Hermione though.

"What about school rules?" She asked slyly.

"… Damn, she's smart." James remarked.

"She's a good match for Remus." Sirius said, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

"Would you two quit trying to set us up?! I swear. You and James are the world's _worst_ matchmakers!" Remus half-yelled at two of his best friends. "Honestly!"

"Sorry, Remus. I couldn't resist." Sirius yawned widely.

"James, Sirius, don't you think you should do your homework?" Hermione interjected.

"Oh! That stuff? Nah." Sirius brushed it off lightly.

"Padfoot, remember what Moony told us. If we don't do our homework we can't show Amy around the school." James reminded his friend with a heavy sigh and a glance in Moony's direction. He then reluctantly pulled out a roll of parchment, quill, ink, and Transfiguration textbook.

"Aw, Moony, you ruin all of the fun!" Sirius whined, opening his eyes and sliding off his chair to pull out his Potions textbook.

"That's what I'm here for." Remus replied nonchalantly, setting down his essay. "Well, at least _I'm_ done for the night." He sent a half-glare in Sirius and James' direction.

"… You don't have to rub it in, you know." James said and feigned a hurt look and tone. Remus merely laughed.

"Now the question is whether I should retire for the evening and leave Amy with you two nutcases; or stay down here."

"Are you asking us?" James asked, motioning to Sirius and himself. "Because if you are, you know what we'll say."

"Yes, I am asking you. And no, I do not know what you'll say – as it won't be one of the options, will it?" Remus stood up and stretched. Hermione couldn't help but notice how thin he really was. How dare he accuse _her_ of being an anorexic when he probably was thinner?! She set down the book she had been reading, observing the trio.

"Damn, you're good." Sirius said in awe. "Well, you see, I was thinking-"

"We were thinking!" James interjected. Whatever Sirius said to Remus he would back up one hundred percent.

"Right, point taken. Okay, so as I was saying. _We_," He continued, putting a great deal more emphasis on 'we' than was actually needed. "We were thinking that you'd like to show Amy around the castle. -- You know, the parts where we're actually allowed to go -- before curfew. I mean, it's not like she has any homework yet. And you finished yours."

"As much as I think that you are wrong and I should beat you up-"

"You'll thank me later for this!"

"You mean 'us', Sirius, 'us'!"

"That's what I said!"

"No, you said 'me'!"

"No, I said 'us'-"

"_As I was saying_," Moony interrupted. "If Amy has no objection to me showing her around, it would be beneficial for her to learn the corridors. So," He started and turned to Amy. "Would you like to learn some of the corridors?"

"Sure." Hermione replied and stood up. She brushed her skirt off and stretched. She followed Remus to the portrait hole and climbed through after him.

"Ah, Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall called out and ran up to Hermione. "Here is your schedule, dear. The times are written next to the subjects. If you have any questions, please ask me. I will be in my office." With those last words, Professor McGonagall hurried off down another corridor.

Hermione looked down at the schedule and was both surprised and delighted to find out that it was the exact same schedule as she had in the future. A smile spread across her face.

"If you tell me what you have first, I can show you how to get there." Remus offered.

"I have Charms first, but I kno-" _You're not supposed to know where any of the corridors are, you idiot!_ She mentally berated herself and earned her another odd look from Remus. "Well, I sort of know where it is." Hermione finished lamely, uncomfortable.

"Let's make sure you do." Remus replied. "It wouldn't be good to get lost here. There are too many things you could run into that are hazardous. Come on." He offered her his hand.

Now, this one simple gesture presented a _huge_ dilemma for her. If she took his hand it might lead to something more than holding hands over the course of the year. That would not be good, because he was going to be her professor in the third year. However, if she didn't take it, she might loose a potential friend and he'd think she really was a nut job. In the end, she decided that it would be better to have a friend and took his hand and then followed him.

"Your hand is freezing. Are you feeling okay?" He stopped walking, pressing the back of his free hand to her forehead. Hermione pushed his hand away lightly. A blush crept across her cheeks and she looked down at her shoes.

"I'm fine." She replied quietly.

"Suit yourself. Come on, it's only an hour until curfew will end." He started walking once more with her following. "Once you come to the end of this hall, you go down the left stair case." Remus led her down the staircase. "Now you walk down the right corridor." He led her down the corridor lit by the torches in the brackets on the walls. Hermione knew that this corridor was lit by sunlight in the day because of the many windows.

"So you go to the end of the corridor leading out of the portrait hole, go down the left staircase, and then take the corridor to the right."

"Precisely. And then you go into the first classroom on the right."

"All the way down, left stair case, right corridor, and then the first classroom on the right." Hermione let go of his hand and leaned against the wall, resting for a second.

"We should go back soon." Remus reminded her after a rough two minutes had passed.

"Yes, I know." She stood up straight again and yawned behind her hand.

"Just to make sure you know how to get here and back, lead the way back."

"Sure thing, Remus. Follow me. I swear I won't get us lost." She grinned at him and then started walking back down the deserted corridor.

He followed her from a couple paces behind and admired how she could find her way back after learning how to reach the Charms class not but ten minutes before. Of course, that wasn't the only thing he was admiring. He was abruptly pulled out of his trance when they reached the place where the corridor was met by several staircases.

"Now, if we took the left one to get here, it would be the right one going back." She started up the right staircase with him following her.

"You're good with directions." He complimented her.

"Thank you." _Nah, I've just been down that path loads of times before._ When she reached the top of the stairs she continued down the corridor that she was presented with. Hermione stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady and turned to look at Remus. "And here we are now."

"Yes, here we are. Nice job, Amy." He half-smiled and took several paces closer to her, tempted to kiss her.

"Please don't at me like that." Hermione said quietly, looking him back in the eyes.

"Why not?" He inquired, wondering exactly _how_ he was looking at her. He had never given looking at people much thought before. Was there something terribly wrong looking at her?

"It makes me feel uncomfortable." She replied and her cheeks became tinged with pink again. "Bat boogey." Hermione stated clearly to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open. Hermione stepped inside, followed by Remus.

"Hello again." James and Sirius told the pair, grinning devilishly.

"Hey."

"I'm going to go up to bed, now." Hermione said, picking up the book she had been reading.

"Good night." Sirius told her with a wink.

"See you later." James replied with another wink.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, Amy." Remus said, sitting down in the chair he had previously occupied.

"'Night." Hermione yawned and walked over the girls' dormitory's stairs and was about to go up them before she ran back over to the trio. "James, there's a problem. I… I don't own any dark clothes."

"That is a problem…" Sirius nodded, looking over to James for his answer.

"Tomorrow is a trip to Hogsmeade. You can get some then. We'll delay the um… Trip." James answered.

"Okay then. I'm sorry. Good night." Hermione walked back over to the stairs and climbed up them, disappearing.

"So. Remus." Sirius started, looking over to his friend with a smirk on his face. "How'd it go?"

"How did what go?" Remus asked wearily, though he knew exactly what Sirius wanted to know.

"You know. Showing Amy the _corridors_…" James said slyly, dragging Hermione's old chair over to Remus' chair. Sirius did likewise with another chair.

"… You two are such perverts." Remus sighed, pulling a text book into his lap and opening it.

"What's he talking about, Sirius? He must have a guilty conscience."

"I know what you mean, Prongs. I mean, we were _only_ asking if it was successful and if Amy learned at least where one measly corridor led to." James said, giving off a fake air of innocence.

"All three of us knew what you really meant, so just shut up." Remus snapped.

"I take it that it didn't go very well, did it Moony?" James asked seriously. "What happened?"

"First of all, I hate you. Second of all, I still hate you. But of course you won't leave me alone about this, so I'll tell you anyway." Moony sighed. "I offered her my hand when I was showing her the way to Charms. She paused before taking it-"

"Come off it, Remus. Chicks do that all the time!" Sirius said. "Go on."

"They do?" Prongs hissed in Padfoot's ear.

"Just go with it." Sirius whispered back.

"Her hand was cold, so I thought she might be sick. I put a hand to her forehead and she pushed it away. She was a little warm, though… So then we reached the Charms' classroom. I told her that she should lead the way back so she doesn't forget the way there by tomorrow. She did that. Then, we were in front of the Fat Lady and I was _just_ _looking_ at her and she tells me to not look at her quote like that unquote. I didn't know I was looking at her any differently than I look at everyone else, so I ask 'why not'? Then she tells me it makes her uncomfortable and goes through the portrait hole."

"Wow." James said, looking at Sirius. "He needs some real help with girls."

"_Hell yeah._" Sirius replied. "We can help him there, right?" He grinned at James and James grinned back.

"Don't worry, Remus. We've got it all under control."

**Author's Note:** Wow, my hands are all cramped up now. I'm sorry for not letting Hermione and Remus kiss, but I thought it would be a little bit too early.

**Reviews and flames appreciated.**


	4. Kidnapped

**Author's Note:** I love all of these reviews! They make me so happy. I'm glad that you guys like my story so I swear I will complete this unless something horribly tragic happens (i.e. I die.). Anyhow, I'm sorry about the chapter-a-day thing getting screwed up. My schedule got a little bit hectic, but I promise I will try and make it up.

Blackrose23 – Hermione was worried about the school rules because, like you said, it sounds like her and two; she doesn't know what the Marauders are like yet. So therefore she also would not know which school rules they break, because there are two kinds: trivial ones (like at my school, your skirts can not be over six inches above the top of your knee cap) and the really important ones (like no guns or knives). So she'd be okay with breaking trivial ones, but no important ones. I hope I explained that right. X.x

Y'know, I just realized I haven't put a disclaimer on this thing. Really, though, I think it's silly – as we all know I'm not J.K. Rowling and I'm not claiming to be. Anyhow, just to clarify, I don't own any of the characters that you recognize. I probably won't add in OC's, so no worries there.

Anyway. Onto the story!

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Chapter Three**

Before Remus knew what was happening to him, he was bombarded with advice on girls that he did not need or, quite frankly, want. Besides – He didn't like Amy that way! She was just a girl and a friend, but **not** a girlfriend. On top of that, the two weren't even that great at dealing with girls! Seriously, Lily Evans still despised James despite his efforts; which was exactly why he wasn't getting her to like him – He was trying to hard! Sirius, on the other hand, was not good with girls because he didn't have to do _anything_ to get them to like him. For all they could know, there could be a Sirius Black fan club created by some rabid fan girls!

"And when you get into a fight and she tells you how she feels, tell her that you understand-"

"Give her chocolate, girls like chocolate-"

"Girls like any sort of gift too-"

"Will both of you _please_ be quiet!" Remus protested loudly after roughly ten minutes of being told what girls like and don't like.

"… Woah now. Don't get mad at us-"

"We're only trying to help you, Moony. It's a little more than obvious, if you don't mind me saying so, that you need help." James said cautious of Moony for another reason than him being a werewolf.

"An expert's help." Sirius added with a smug smile that dimmed when Remus scowled at opened his mouth.

"I do not need any help with Amy. I don't even like her like that. She's just a friend. And no offense, but I hardly consider either of you an expert on girls." Remus sighed and stood up, ready to go to the boy's dormitory to sleep.

"Then why do you look at her like a boy who is infatuated?" Sirius countered in an accusatory tone. James nodded as part of backing up his friend.

"Yeah, why do you?" He added after a second's pause.

"Look, I'm just trying to figure something out, alright? Now are you satisfied?" Moony replied in a tired manor and ran a hand through his slightly disorderly pale gold locks. He started walking towards the dormitory with his essay and textbook under his arm.

"No. What're you trying to figure out?" Sirius questioned, or rather, demanded. He cut of Remus' path towards the staircase.

"It's none of your business." Remus replied evasively and walked around Sirius only to be blocked by James.

"Like Hell it's not. You're our friend. Friends tell." James folded his arms across his chest and looked at the fellow Marauder; determined to crack him. Sirius appeared next to James and copied James' motions. If one didn't know any better, one might believe they were identical twins.

"Fine." Remus sighed and gave the two a half-glare. "You see, Amy says that she's a new student. But there are times when I could just swear that she isn't. I know I've only known her for a day – but there were several times when it seems like she's been at Hogwarts already. When we first met, she asked who I was. I told her my name and she goes 'shit', then accused herself of being careless.

"Then she called me 'Professor'. When I pointed out to her that I was not a professor and I was her age she said 'shit' again. Also, when I asked her what her name was she paused, almost as if she had forgotten it. She did the same thing when I asked her why she was here at Hogwarts.

"After I took her to see Professor Dumbledore I told her it was almost dinner. She started off in the direction of the Great Hall, but then suddenly came to a stop and asked me if I knew which way it was. The same thing happened when I was showing her the way to Charms, but she actually said that she knew the way before adding that she 'sort of' knew where it was." Remus stopped talking and was met with a silence from his two friends. Maybe now they would stop teasing him of liking her.

"That is highly abnormal." Sirius replied slowly. "You're right to look into that, I guess."

"However, you can't deny that she's quite a looker. I mean, if I were you, I'd be all over her." James added with a smile of self-satisfaction. Remus' eyes narrowed at this comment; it had obviously gotten under his skin.

"Shut it." He snapped and pushed the two apart to clear his path to the dormitory. "I'm going to bed now. And when I wake up, this nonsense about me liking Amy had better be gone." Remus walked quickly up the dormitory's stairs before his friends could stop him.

Both Sirius and James stood there for a couple minutes; completely stunned at Remus' behavior. It was most odd for him to loose his temper, indeed.

"He does like her, doesn't he, Sirius?" Prongs asked his friend in a quiet tone, as though afraid Moony would hear his comment.

"I think he really does. He's just in denial still. But we'll help him overcome that stage, won't we?"

"Yes, we will."

* * *

The morning of the next day passed quickly and without much incident. Hermione made no slip-ups on her story that she was a new student, although that didn't stop Remus from watching and scrutinizing her every move. Something was out of place, he knew it, and he was bent on figuring out this puzzle.

The only piece that Remus had gathered to the puzzle of Amy thus far was there was something wrong with her 'new student' façade. She had made far too many slip-ups on her cover for him not to notice. Remus thought it would be best, however, to wait a little longer before bringing that to her attention.

"Hel_lo_! Earth to Remus!" Sirius said loudly as James waved a hand in front of his face.

"Huh? What?"

"Could you please pass the chicken?" Sirius requested with a smile.

"Oh, sure thing." Remus shook his head a little to clear his thoughts before passing the chicken platter over to his best friend.

"Thank you Remus. Care to enlighten us on your thoughts?" He asked innocently. "You've been spacing out for the past _ten minutes._" Sirius drew out the two words with a slightly annoyed tone. Remus quickly looked at Hermione, in a silent question, asking her if Sirius was right.

"Sirius is right, Remus. You've been staring at your _empty_ plate for, approximately, the past ten minutes." She confirmed with a nod and then added with a secret smile, "Now who's the anorexic one?"

"Oh, very funny, Amy." Remus responded sarcastically, though laughed good-naturedly and pulled the platter of chicken back towards him. He placed several drumsticks onto his plate and started eating one. Hermione smirked at Remus before turning back to her meal.

Lunch came to an end shortly and a mass exodus of students began departing to their next classes. Hermione and the Marauders being only few of a great many departing. Without a second thought, Hermione began walking towards the Transfiguration department; her next class.

"Amy! Where are you going?" Remus asked with a quizzical look. "You're going to get lost if you don't know."

"Oh, I know where-" Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and quit speaking. "I mean, I thought I knew where I was going but I really have no idea." Remus blinked several times and she grinned nervously.

"Here, I'll show you where your class is. Transfiguration, right?" She nodded at him and he took her hand. "I thought so. That's my next class too."

He led her through the thick crowd, down the right corridors; or at least until a certain point. Hermione opened her mouth to tell him that he was going the wrong way before she caught herself again. _He's probably already got his suspicions about me, I shouldn't add to the list._ Remus led her through a door and led her inside. It was an empty classroom. This most definitely gave her a reason to protest.

"Remus, I thought that you were going to show me to Transfiguration. This is an emp…ty classroom." She trailed off as he shut the door and cast a complex locking charm that could not be solved by a simple '_Alohomora'_. Hermione looked at him warily before taking a seat on the large teacher's desk.

Remus sat down on top of the student's desk directly in front of Hermione; his eyes attempting to penetrate her faulty façade. Several minutes passed in silence as he tried in vain to decipher her using her eyes as his tool. Whoever said that a person's eyes are the window to their soul was wrong, oh-so wrong. Either that or he wasn't good at deciphering girls.

"Explanation now, please." He said quietly, but in a clear voice. Hermione shifted uncomfortably under his gaze before trying to pretend that she had not the slightest idea of what he was talking about. Her heartbeat increased slightly, but she tried her best to ignore it and not let the signs show.

"Explanation of what?" She countered, though doing a poor job for once in her life; her voice broke in several places and was a little shaky.

"You know what I mean." Remus replied in the same almost-whisper. The classroom was so quiet that his statement reverberated softly several times. Hermione shifted again and adverted her gaze from him to the floor: one major mistake.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do." He accused her calmly. "Otherwise you wouldn't have shifted, your heartbeat would not have increased, and you would still be looking at me."

"How-?!" She started the question once he stopped talking before closing her mouth. "This is _absurd._ We both are supposed to be in Transfiguration right now and _you_ decided to _kidnap_ me and take me to this deserted classroom." Hermione glared at him before sliding off the teacher's desk and crossing to the door. Her hand enclosed around the doorknob and tried to twist it to open the door. The door, however, would not budge. Hermione was not about to give up that easily. Next, she pulled out her wand and raised it, opening her mouth to say the counter for the spell.

But before she could do so, Remus was on his feet and took her wand out of her hand. He pocketed her wand before treading agilely around her so he was facing her front. She was not looking at him, but rather at the doorknob. In another futile attempt, she jiggled the doorknob. The door still did not move. Instinctively he gripped her wrist gently and pried her hand away from the knob. With his other hand he put two fingers under her chin and raised her head so she would be looking at him.

"Amy Granger, I know that there is something amiss with your new student cover. There have been too many slip-ups on your part for me to not notice a thing. I request that you tell me what your true reason for being here is." Remus looked down at her. Satisfied with the look behind her eyes, he let go of her wrist and returned both of his arms to his sides.

Meanwhile, Hermione's mind was flying a million miles per millisecond. He knew that something was wrong with her story. He could possibly even know that her name wasn't really 'Amy'. Silently, she admired his ability to be able to see through her story. The other part of her screamed that she was a bad liar and that she would need to see Dumbledore about this at once. But how could she accomplish that when he had her locked in this room with her wand in his possession?! Coming to her decision on how to cure this dilemma, Hermione let out a sigh and took in a deep breath.

Life was about to throw Remus a curve ball.

**Author's Note:** And this is where I leave you for now. Sorry for the really long time it took to update, I had a minor writer's block. I believe that I'm over it for now and I'm thinking of some small little conflicts along the way.

I think that I've come to the conclusion that I do not want Peter Pettigrew to be a part of this story. For the Peter fans out there who might be reading this, I'm sorry. I have a hard time grasping his personality and what would be reasonable and unreasonable for him to say. If anyone has a _really_ big problem with him being absent, please say so in your review.

**Reviews and flames appreciated.**


	5. Detention

**Author's Note:** Haha, I am such an evil bitch. Okay, maybe not, but for now I am. Why? I don't know. You can come up with your own reasons. XP

Sydney-Black- I got my idea for this story around two o'clock a.m. I really wanted to do a Hermione/Remus fan fiction so I grabbed my notebook and a pen and brainstormed for a while. And thus this story was created.

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Chapter Four**

Hermione exhaled slowly; a way of stalling to fix the final details. Remus' eyes flickered with excitement and shock (she was going to tell him the _real_ reason!) before small flecks of self-satisfaction set in. Hermione ran a hand through her hair and leaned against the door.

"You see, I haven't physically been to Hogwarts before now. That was my stepfather's fault. You see, he was furious that I had gotten a letter from here. I don't know quite why, but that's beside the point." She paused and looked down at the floor before continuing her story. "But when he refused to let me go to Hogwarts, I started having these really weird dreams. Dreams about me attending Hogwarts. The scary thing is that they were actually correct… I mean, Charms class was where it was in my dreams. So that's why I've been like… Heading towards my classes, but then stopping and asking the way. Then he died last month. So I got to come here."

"So you're a Seer, or something like that, then." Remus said slowly after a couple seconds of his jaw hanging open. "That's… Interesting."

Hermione nodded. It sounded reasonable after all… Or at least she hoped that he believed her. Him being a werewolf was a problem though. His senses would be extremely fine tuned and perhaps even multiplied to some degree. Hermione could only pray that he couldn't sense that her story was a lie.

"But please don't tell anyone. I don't want people coming up to me and asking me to predict if their crush is going to fall in love with them or whatever. You won't tell anyone will you?" She willed herself to look worried and raised her head and met Remus' blue eyes with her own brown ones.

"I won't tell anyone." He assured her, but all the same thought something was amiss. Either she had blatantly lied to him and he was being stupid to not realize it or she had left parts out. Perhaps it was even a combination of both.

"Thank you." An awkward silence fell before Hermione asked Remus a question. "Can we _please_ get to Transfiguration now? Professor McGonagall is going to have our heads on a silver platter as it is! I can't risk getting detention, it's going to ruin my perfect, I mean, my hopes of a perfect record!" This time she didn't have to feign worry; it was genuine.

Remus thought this over for a couple of seconds. If they did show up, they would most certainly get detention. She might hate him if he was the cause of ruining her record. On the other hand… If they never showed up for class, McGonagall wouldn't get to give them detention. Although she would have to look for them… But then what if she never found them…? A small grin spread across Remus' face. Here, a straight A student named Remus Lupin, was actually plotting ways to get out of detention. All for a mere girl he had met yesterday before dinner! _A very interesting girl._ He added in his thoughts.

"Amy, if we went back to class McGonagall would _definitely_ give us detention." Before he could continue on with his reasoning he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "No, Amy, let me finish! But if we never show up for any classes all day then she wouldn't be able to punish us, because she can't find us!"

"Not show up for _any_ classes?! The whole day?!" Hermione looked as though she were about to pass out. Admittedly, in his mind, Remus was in similar condition. "Are you insane? We'll miss out on _everything._ We have to, at the very least, get our homework!"

_The girl has a point._ He thought and tried to think of a solution that would work.

"I've got it! Okay, well, Prongs has an invisibility cloak! We could pull that out and after dinner go and get our homework. Does that sound okay?"

Hermione fell into a silence for a couple minutes before replying to his proposal. She thought it would work out, but then there was the problem of… Just _missing a class._ For no reason!

"… I guess that'd be okay." She admitted grudgingly. "I'm so screwed." Hermione muttered.

"Then it's settled. When class lets out we'll go with the crowd up to Gryffindor tower, because if we go now the teachers will notice. So I guess we have another half an hour left in this classroom." He added looking up at the clock.

"Great." Hermione replied dryly.

"So um… What do you want to talk about?" He asked. Hermione pushed him aside and went to sit down on a desk in the far back corner. Remus stood there for a second, blinking. What did she just do? Was she mad at him? "Amy?" He asked hesitantly. When he didn't receive an answer, he walked over to her. "Amy?" He asked again. She turned away from him, facing the wall. His hand closed around her upper arm and turned her back to face him. Remus was met with the sharp sting of her hand smacking his cheek. When he regained his composure, he noticed that her eyes were watering once more and she looked furious. Furious at him, he realized.

"How dare you! It's your fault that we're missing class! You can't just expect us to get our homework and everything will be alright!" She cried out and made a move to smack him again, but this time he was ahead of her and caught her hand.

"I-I'm sorry. I truly am, Amy. I didn't think. I just wanted an answer. I'm sorry." He stuttered and let go of her arm and her hand and looking down. "If you want to smack me again, I give you permission to do so." Remus braced himself for a smack, but was surprised when none came. He allowed himself to steal a glance at 'Amy'.

"Just because I didn't smack you doesn't mean that I'm not mad at you. However," She continued. "You found away that at least _might_ work so I guess I'll forgive you. But next time, please. When you need an answer to something don't kidnap me and haul me off to some desolate classroom. Talk to me later. I have a question."

"Thank you. Go ahead."

"What happened to your buddies? They didn't follow us or anything. I thought that they had the class too." Remus frowned. That was a good question. A _really_ good question.

"I… I don't have an answer to that. Wait. No, I do. I bet it's… Well." He fumbled with his words and a small blush crept across his cheeks. "They think that I, um, I like you or something. So they were um, trying to give me er… Advice and stuff like that." Hermione raised an eyebrow at that before laughing nervously.

"That's a good one. Someone liking me? Yeah, sure. Your friends are really weird, Remus." She laughed some more, though secretly was a little bit hurt. Hermione had grown a little fond of Remus. A little fond meaning more than liking him as just a friend. _But it's not like anything could happen; he's my Professor in third year. That would most certainly not being proper._

Remus laughed nervously too, though it was half hearted. "Yeah, um, the things they come up with… Real crazy." He laughed again and ran a hand through his hair. Hermione's laughter faltered and she looked at him. His laughter was so… _Fake_.

"You, don't actually… Y'know, like… Like me or something, do you?" She asked carefully, almost disbelieving. A pink tint stained her cheeks although she kept looking at Remus intently. He bit his lip, looking down. He hated being put on the spot for a question to which he didn't know the answer. Or rather, an answer that he knew but he was afraid of rejection.

"Of course I do; you're my friend." He replied, hoping that this answer would be accepted.

"… That's not what I meant, Remus, and you know it." She told him quietly, looking down. No, he didn't like her and she had lured herself into a false hope. "But forget it anyway." She added as the sound of students filling the corridors reached their ears. Hermione rose and slung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the door.

_Kiss her, you fool!_ Remus' brain shouted at him. He ignored it though, slinging his bag over his shoulder, casting the counter charmand following her into the crowd and up to the Gryffindor common room. At least his plan would work. McGonagall would never ever be able to pick them out of a crowd.

"Mr. Lupin, Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall appeared in front of the two friends. _Shit._ "Follow me please." She led them into her classroom and made them sit down. Closing the door, she turned to them and looked at them with disapproval stamped all over her face. "I trust you two have a good explanation as to why you were not in class."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Remus blurted out,

"It's not her fault, Professor. I, um, I made her come with me. She was lost and I told her I could show her where your class was. But I wanted to talk to her so then I led her to an empty classroom."

"And you let him do this, Miss Granger?" The professor inquired, looking at Hermione.

"No, she didn't." Remus cut in. "By the time she realized it was not your class I cast a charm on the door that would lock it. A simple '_alohomora_' can't counter the charm."

"And what precisely did you two talk about?"

"He wanted to get to know me better." Hermione cut in. It wasn't the best lie, but it would work.

"I see. Now, you both are aware that I will have to give you detention and deduct house points?" Remus and Hermione both nodded, defeated. "Alright. You will both have detention at 8 pm sharp with Mr. Filch. Fifty house points will be taken from both of you. You may go now. To your next class, I might add."

* * *

At eight o'clock Hermione and Remus were being led down to the trophy room by Mr. Filch. The only sound that could be heard was the echo of their footsteps leading to the small room filled with awards and plaques. They came to a stop when Mr. Filch turned to them and grinned nastily.

"You will both be cleaning this room. Awards included. No magic. You will not leave until I check this room, is that clear?" Both nodded as a sign of understanding. "Good. Here are your supplies." He gestured to a pile of mops, sponges, assorted cleaning potions, among other things. "I will be in my office." Filch turned on his heel and exited the room.

"Amy, I'm sorry." Remus said softly before dragging a bucket of murky water and a mop out of the corner. He pulled the mop out of the water and began sweeping it over the cold stone floor.

"It's alright. I should have opened my mouth and told you that we were headed the wrong way anyway. Assuming all of the locations in my dreams were correct. I didn't want you to think I was a freak though." Hermione pulled another bucket and mop out of the corner and started at the opposite end of the room. She was astonished at how quickly the lies were pouring from her mouth.

"We just have to think about how to get the house points back. Maybe if we read one chapter ahead in all of the textbooks for the subjects tomorrow…" He trailed off.

"That'd only get us about ten points each. We'd need to figure out what's next in the classes. Maybe we could ask your friends what's going to be taught tomorrow in Transfiguration."

"That's a good idea…" Remus trailed off, leaving them in silence. The silence lasted roughly forty-five minutes, during which they both worked hard on eliminating all of the stains on the plaques and the cabinet's doors.

"Amy?"

"Yes?"

"When you asked me earlier if I liked you and I told you I did like you as a friend… I think I might be wrong." Remus bit his lip, pouring every once of strength and concentration into cleaning the plaque before him.

"What kind of wrong?" She asked quiet, though clearly.

"I think I might like you as more than a friend." Remus replied, not stopping to look up at her.

"It wouldn't work." She replied, though secretly wanting to tell him that she felt the same way.

"Why not?" He asked, trying to keep the hurt from his voice.

_Because it would screw up my future._

"It just wouldn't. We only met approximately two days ago. It just wouldn't."

"… If we gave it more time?" He questioned.

Hermione bit her lip, considering this. If she told him no then she wouldn't have him as a friend. Then she couldn't be friends with Sirius and James.

"Okay then, Moony."

_But you're right for me._ The wolf in Remus wanted to protest. _I know it; I can feel it. I wouldn't forget you, ever._ _Tomorrow, after we get you dark clothing you will know why my nickname is Moony, Amy. Just don't run away from me._

**Author's Note:** Hmm, I'm not particularly fond of this chapter… But I promise things will get better.

**Thanks to: **dancing in rain, jade emerald, blackrose23, Q-BriarXJade-Q, LZY, Sydney-Black, Nicole.

**Reviews and flames appreciated.**


	6. Moonlight

**Author's Note:** First of all, I would like you thank you guys for reading my story and (for those who have left reviews) telling me you liked it. Second of all, I'm so sorry for the time it's taken to update.

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Chapter Five**

"Hey, Amy!" Sirius called from across the store. It was Saturday; the Hogsmeade field trip. The Marauders and Hermione were currently scouring through the racks of muggle clothes in hopes of finding dark clothes for Hermione. The excursion was settled for tonight, for it was a full moon.

"Yeah, Sirius?" Hermione asked, peaking around a clothing rack that had been blocking her view of him.

"What do you think of this?" He grinned and held up a scrap of black cloth that had been residing on the 'dress' rack.

"… Is that supposed to be a dress?" Hermione stared at the material. Sirius nodded and she burst out laughing. "In your dreams, Padfoot! Well, okay, if I had pants that would cover up the rest of me."

"Are these good?" James inquired, holding up a pair of black pants.

"Mmm… They're good." Hermione took both articles of clothing and strode over to the dressing room. "No peeking, guys, or I'll hex you into oblivion!"

"Don't worry, Amy. We won't."

"Good." Hermione replied, sliding her shirt over her head and pulling on the short black dress. Before she changed into the dark coloured pants, she took a moment to see if the dress looked good in the mirror. It barely reached the middle of her thighs. Suddenly, Hermione appreciated the fact that she had pants to put on under the dress.

"Are you ready yet, Amy!" James called impatiently.

"Hold up, I'm almost ready." Hermione tore herself away from the mirror and her thoughts and then traded her own pants for the dark coloured ones. She was mildly surprised that they fit just as the dress did – perfectly. After she took a small breath she stepped out of the dressing room. "So, what do you think?"

"Damn, girl. That looks really great on you. Remus? James?" Sirius nodded in approval and leaned back against a wall.

"You should buy those." James said with a second nod of approval. "Remus?"

"What those two said." He replied smoothly and motioned to Sirius and James.

"Okay then. I'll god take these off and pay for them." Hermione smiled and returned to the tiny dressing room. Minutes later she reappeared with different attire and strode over to the counter and purchased the pants and dress.

"Anyone want a butterbeer?" James offered as the four walked down the packed roads of Hogsmeade.

"It's too hot out here for a butterbeer." Hermione replied, fanning herself with her hand that was not carrying the bag of her clothes.

"Let me rephrase that. Would anyone want to go to the Three Broomsticks for a cold beverage because it is so damn hot outside?"

"Sure. I'll take you up on that." Sirius grinned and opened up the door to the large pub. "Ladies first."

"Thank you, Sirius." Hermione said with a small smile of gratitude. The roar of conversation from many people washed over her the second she stepped over the threshold. Quickly scanning the room for an empty table, her eyes fell upon one in the corner. The one table that she, Harry, and Ron had so often occupied. A small pang shot through her heart, as though someone had shoved a dull knife into her. "Will that table do?" She asked Remus and pointed towards the empty table.

"Yeah, that's our usual table anyway." Remus nodded and made his way over to the table, with the other two Marauders and Hermione following. All of the foursome sat down, save for James who remained standing.

"What does everyone want?"

"Iced butterbeer." They all told James, who laughed. "Okay, four iced butterbeers. Hold up." He disappeared into the crowd of people who were up and about in the large tavern. Hermione let go of her bag holding her black outfit, letting it rest against one of the wooden bench legs.

"Thank God it's not as hot in here as it is out there." Sirius remarked, looking skywards. Or rather, he looked at the fans that were spinning rapidly above them. Hermione smiled and laughed.

"What, were you melting?" Remus asked playfully with a grin. Sirius rolled his eyes and replied with a dry 'Ha, ha'. Observing both of them and they way they interacted with one another made a small laugh escape Hermione's lips. The two Marauders looked over at her with quizzical looks upon their faces.

"What's so funny?" Remus asked her with his eyebrows raised. Hermione shook her head with a smile and her chocolate eyes twinkling with laughter. Before Remus could react to her, James ambled awkwardly over to the table with two iced butterbeers in each hand.

"One butterbeer for the lady," He said, more to himself than to anyone else, sliding a metal mug in front of Hermione. "And one for the we- I mean, one for Moony." James corrected himself hastily and glanced in Hermione's direction. Hermione pretended that she hadn't been listening and sent him a quizzical look. James shook his head with a grin, though let out a small sigh of relief after he finished distributing the iced butterbeer.

"So, Amy, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" James asked for the sake of conversation and took a swig of his butterbeer. Hermione took a sip of hers and racked her mind for something to do.

"I don't know," She replied after a moment. "I was thinking about reading and doing my homework, actually." Both Sirius and James stared at her, their jaws dropped.

"But it's the _weekend._" Sirius protested, still aghast at her thoughts.

"And you want to throw it away doing _homework_," James said the word as if it were the most despicable thing anyone could ever utter.

"She's just like Remus!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Only a girl!" James added. Both Hermione and Remus snorted at this and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly! You two really should do your homework, because if you don't your grades will suffer."

"We do our homework."

"The night before it's due." Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes again.

"You two are hopeless." She said, though only jesting.

"Nah, we just have better things to do with our time." Sirius countered with a grin and took a huge gulp of his butterbeer.

* * *

Hermione strode down the staircase leading to the Gryffindor common room while pulling on her black cloak over her black outfit she had purchased in Diagon Alley earlier. It was eleven o'clock at night and everyone was asleep; everyone except the Marauders and herself.

"Amy?" Remus asked quietly. James, Sirius, and Remus were sitting on the couch next to the dying fire.

"Yeah. It's me." She replied and stopped walking once she had reached their location on the couch. "Who else would it be?"

"You can't be too careful." Sirius retorted hastily, standing up. Both James and Remus followed suit. "Let's be on our way, shall we?"

Without waiting for a response from the other three, Sirius soundlessly moved across the common room to the portrait hole and opened it, stepping through. Remus placed a hand on Hermione's lower back, pushing her in front of him without words. She nodded and crawled through the gap between the portrait and the common room. He followed her and the Fat Lady's portrait swung shut soundlessly behind the foursome. Thankfully, the Fat Lady was not awake; rather, she was snoring loudly and the tapestries in the background swayed with her inhales and exhales.

Except for the occasional squeak of a floorboard underneath their feet, they were as quite as mice. When they reached the front doors, James placed a silencing charm on the large oak doors, and opened one just enough so that everyone could slip out. Once Remus had exited the witchcraft and wizardry school, he removed the simple charm and looked over at his friends and Hermione.

"Amy, you must promise us that you won't tell anyone about this, alright?" Sirius inquired and for once was serious.

"Of course I won't, Sirius." Hermione assured the raven-haired young man with a nod and her word.

"Good."

Sirius began to change slowly into his animagus form, leaving Hermione feigning bewilderment. Her cinnamon eyes shifted to James to see him changing also; the antler's of his stag form starting to form. The only one who was not going to change (yet) was Remus.

"They're animaguses, aren't they." Her wording sounded as if it were a question, but the way she said it was as though it were a mere statement. Remus nodded at her with a small smile.

"We will save the story for later times. James is a stag and Sirius is a black dog, so don't be frightened. You'll see what I am soon enough." His last sentence was spoken quietly, almost sadly.

"Okay, I see. So where to now?"

"Just follow us." He told her with a small grin and started running off with the stag and the black dog. Hermione followed, thankful that she was wearing pants underneath her skimpy dress.

Before long, the Whomping Willow came into sight and she mentally sighed in relief. A stitch was forming in her side and her breath came in quick, short gasps. The two humans and the animals came to a halt in front of the Whomping Willow and Sirius dodged between the vicious branches and pressed his paw to a knot on the tree. Almost immediately, the tree froze.

Prongs quickly leapt with grace between and over the maze of branches and disappeared down a hole. Remus and Hermione followed, though at a much slower pace and with more clumsiness. Looking up at the sky, Remus sighed with relief that the moon was still covered with numerous clouds. After a few more moments of disorganized weaving through the branches, both slid down the dark hole.

Once they hit the end of the small slope, they pulled out their wands and muttered '_Lumos_'. The tips of their wands glowed with white light, illuminating a few feet in front of their forms. Silence still prevailed as Remus and Hermione continued down the dark passageway and came to a door.

"Open it."

Her hand closed around the doorknob and she thrust it open, stepping inside the Shrieking Shack. Remus followed her and closed the door behind them, locking it.

"You're in the Shrieking Shack." He told Hermione as she sat back in a disheveled chair missing an arm.

"That's… Interesting." She replied, trying to act mildly surprised. Remus didn't appear to notice that she was trying to act, or if he did, he didn't show it.

Sirius appeared and stuck his cold and wet nose on Hermione's palm, wagging his tail. James appeared on her other side, looking extremely regal. Absently, Hermione stroked Sirius' black fur while Remus continued speaking.

"They're going to protect you. If things get bad… Leave. Go through the door and out the way we came. The tree won't harm you if you're coming out of here." He stopped, waiting for her response and possible interrogation.

"Protect me from what?" She questioned, pretending she had not an idea in the world of what she would need to be protected from.

"Me." Remus replied softly, looking away from her. He didn't want to see her reaction to the next tidbit he was about to relay to her. "You see, I'm… I'm a werewolf."

Hermione inhaled sharply, acting as though she had never heard this before. She did her best to try and speed up her heartbeat, although she was not sure of how well she was doing. His senses would be more fine tuned than hers and she would have to work harder to fool him. So far it seemed to be working, though.

"But isn't it dangerous for me to be here?"

"You know how to get out. James and Sirius will protect you until you do. If you want to leave now… You can." He added, still not looking at her. A pool of moonlight shone through the window and his body tensed.

Hermione watched, slightly transfixed, as he changed before her from a human into a werewolf. His skull began to elongate, creating a snout. Golden flecked hair changed into silvery gray fur, which erupted all over his body. His clothing tore as he transformed; tearing apart at the seams. In the span of a few minutes, Remus had been replaced with the towering form a terrifying wolf.

He sniffed at the air and his amber eyes locked on Hermione. _Human._ He thought as he lunged at her.

**Author's Note:** Reviews and flames appreciated greatly.


	7. Breaking Point

**Author's Note:** I'm trying to update sooner and stuff… But you probably don't want to hear about all that crap, so, yeah.

**Disclaimer:** Just thought I'd remind you guys that I don't own Harry Potter, though I wish I did.

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Chapter Six**

A gasp escaped from Hermione's throat and she stood up, wishing that she could move out of the way in time. She knew she would be too slow though. Her mere human reflexes were no match for a werewolf's. Her eyes closed, her body tensed, and her mind expected the worst; for Remus to bite her. That would be the end of Hermione Granger in the future. She could kiss her normalcy good bye.

It never came.

Instead, a snarl emitted from both a werewolf and a black dog. Hermione opened her eyes to see James standing in front of her, his head slightly inclined so that Remus would be jabbed by his antlers if he tried to go to Hermione. Remus was occupied with Sirius, however. The two were fighting with Sirius trying to keep Remus away from Hermione long enough so she could escape through the door.

_/Go./_

The sound came from inside her mind, though the voice was not hers. It sounded like James'. She nodded, though no one saw, and edged backwards towards the wooden door. Her palm, slick with sweat, closed around the knob and twisted it and then pushed backwards.

The werewolf stopped fighting with Sirius and turned to Hermione and James. He lunged forward with an inhuman roar of fury. Hermione's lungs constricted and she stumbled blindly through the door and pushed it closed.

A small sob escaped her throat as she slid down the back of the door onto the dirt floor, shaking violently.

Hermione had known of Remus' lycanthropy ever since her third year at Hogwarts. The idea never bothered her; Remus was gentle enough and she had no reason to fear him. She had never _seen_ him transform, though. She had never seen how he acted when he was a werewolf.

It was terrifying.

She looked down and saw that not only where her hands shaking, but her whole being was. Hermione had perspired and felt hot to the touch, yet cold and clammy to herself. The colour had drained from her normally rosy cheeks. Silently, she thanked God that she had not been bitten.

A sudden ear-piercing howl came from the other side of the door and she jumped up, backing away from it and putting her hands over her ears. Barely a yard from the door, her legs gave out from underneath her and she collapsed in the grime of the tunnel, her cheek pressed against cold earth.

Feeling as though she had exerted her last ounce of energy she had to spend, her eyes closed. Hermione had passed out and entered the land of dreamless sleep.

Hermione awoke with a start as she felt two hands gripping her shoulders. Her eyes snapped open and were met with the face of Remus Lupin. She inhaled sharply and attempted to stand up, but he merely pressed down on her shoulders; effectively keeping her in place. Her eyes dropped from his and gazed down at the ground of the dirt tunnel.

"Are you afraid of me, Amy?" He asked softly, a small dosage of pain slipping into his voice before he pushed it away.

"No, I am not afraid of you." Hermione replied with a shake of her head. She instantly regretted it as the world swam before her eyes.

"Please forgive me, I should not have shown you my transformation."

"It's alright." _I already knew what I was getting myself into._

"Are you hurt?" One of his hands left her shoulder, leaving the skin he had touched on fire. He placed his index finger under her chin and gently forced her to meet his gaze. An apology and the same sadness from the night before lurked in his amber eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine, really." Hermione said firmly, though quite as if the tunnel would collapse if she spoke too loudly. As if to assure himself, Remus held her hair back from her neck and shoulders and inspected her smooth, tan skin. It was unmarred. Satisfied, he let her hair fall back around her shoulders. A shiver ran up her spine as she realized how close he was to her; she could feel his warm breath on her bare skin.

"Did I frighten you?"

"No." She lied, swallowing and trying to keep a clear head. His eyes searched hers and narrowed as he tore his gaze from hers.

"You're not telling me the truth." He stated bitterly and drew his hands away from her. Hermione shivered as the air brushed over the spots where he had been touching her; suddenly cold. She flinched at his accusation, trying to find words.

"I wasn't scared of you." Hermione started slowly, trying not to upset him further. "I was… Afraid when you tried to bite me." Remus looked at Hermione, his hands pulling her hair back once more and inspecting her again.

"That amounts to the same thing, Amy." He replied softly, running one of his index fingers down her throat and collarbone; searching for any cuts on her skin.

"No it doesn't." She protested, inhaling sharply as he continued to make sure she was alright and that he had not caused her any harm. "I can't explain to you how it's not the same, but it just isn't. I wasn't afraid of you being a werewolf. I was just frightened when you tried to bite me." Hermione started breathing normally again when he drew his hands away from her, letting her hair fall back around her face.

"I think I understand." Remus stated slowly, still thinking over her words. She shivered and suddenly realized how close they were. "Are you cold?"

"A little." She told him, brushing off his concern for her. In truth, she was freezing. The material to the dress wasn't that thick and on top of that, it had spaghetti straps; exposing part of her bust and everything upwards.

"We should get back to the castle." He pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her and then pulled her up to her feet. Hermione thanked Remus and they began their way out of the dirt tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow.

* * *

"Where _have_ you two been?" James asked with a smug grin plastered on his face as Remus and Hermione entered the Gryffindor Common Room. Sirius leapt up in a similar fashion and strode briskly over to the trio.

"I hope you two weren't having a nice snog down there. James and I were _so_ worried about you." He flashed his million-watt-movie-star smile.

Hermione blushed at his words and handed Remus' cloak back to its owner. Her upper teeth bit down on her lip in embarrassment and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Remus sighed exasperatedly at the pair's antics.

"No, we weren't having a nice snog." He stated flatly and brushed a loose strand of his dull golden hair out of his face. "We're friends. Nothing more." So the last part was a lie, but who needed to know? Still, Remus felt a pang of guilt for lying to his friends.

"Uh huh, suuuuure." Sirius said teasingly with a roll of his eyes.

"We're friends, you and I, right Sirius? Does that mean that I'm going to snog you?" Remus pointed out and tried to conceal a smirk.

"I don't know, are you?" Sirius replied with quick wit and displayed the smirk on himself that Remus was trying so hard to hide.

"You know what I mean." Remus sighed heavily, throwing up his hands. "I give up, you are the worst." Hermione chuckled at this and a smile spread across her face. Though Remus, Sirius, and James were not the same as Harry and Ron, they were good enough. _Besides, you may never see them again._ Her laughter ended with this thought and a distraught look settled in her chocolate eyes.

"Are you alright, Amy?" Remus asked her and she nodded.

"I just want to go to the library. Get some of my homework done, you know? Those essays will take a while." With that, she left the Marauders and walked up the staircase to gather some parchment, quills, and ink.

Hermione bit her lip once more, trying to keep herself from crying by distracting herself with the physical pain. Her hands worked mechanically, picking up her ink bottle and putting the cork in it, selecting a quill to work with and one to use as back up, and then grabbing a roll of parchment. She put her supplies into a smaller bag than the one she usually carried around with all of her textbooks and took a deep breath to compose herself. The tears pricking the edges of her eyes were threatening to overspill, but she closed her eyes for a minute. When she opened them, she wiped the corners of her eyes delicately with the hem of her dress.

With one last breath, she shouldered her bag and began her way back down the stairs. When she reached the common room, she didn't glance in the direction of the Marauders, but rather headed straight out of the portrait hole. If she could finish her essays early, perhaps she could look for some books on how she could return to her time.

She wandered through the corridors, taking all of the right turns automatically. Hermione had lived for six full years at this castle and was closing on her seventh. Another pang of sadness struck at her heart as she realized that she would have to leave here in June. That was quickly followed by panic when she realized that she had almost no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

Being an Auror would be fun, but that would be a constant danger. Her thoughts drifted to Mad-Eye Moody and his scars and the hunk of his nose missing. She shuddered involuntarily; she didn't want to become like him. So being an Auror was out of the question.

What about being a Ministry Official? Hermione quickly dismissed that thought, thinking of how rashly Fudge had acted. If he would be her boss, she would most definitely not work in the Ministry. Perhaps if a new Minister was elected she would consider the job again, but not until then.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she entered the library and she continued walking until she reached the back of the library, at the table that she had always worked at in her past years. _Or I guess those are previous years, now._ She thought dryly as she sat down and spread her tools out on the smooth table before her and contemplated which essay she would work on first.

Hermione decided to work on her Transfiguration essay: the subject was on safety and was to show that you understood what to do and not to do. The human transfiguration portion had begun, though Hermione wasn't quite as excited about this as she used to be. Her dreams about that subject had always included Ron, Harry, and herself and how something would go wrong but it would be hilarious and fixable. _Stop thinking about them!_ She chided herself. _You're going to make yourself cry._

In order to brush away her memories and dreams, she uncorked the black inkbottle and started fiddling with her quill in thought. Instead she thought about how to start her essay, what type of writing it would be, and what the main points were. Settling on an introduction, she bent over her sheet of parchment and wrote her heading and then penned her introduction.

She didn't look up as the outline of a male walked towards her. Only when he stopped right next to her did she notice. The hand with her quill moved towards the inkpot and she set her quill down before looking up at the young man.

"You seem sad, Amy." Remus said quietly so he would not disturb the other patrons in the library. He took the seat across from her, the one where Harry sat when he, she, and Ron had stayed up almost all night trying to find a way to complete the second task. _Stop thinking about them, for God's sake!_

"I don't know what you mean, Remus." She replied evasively and took her quill out of the ink and continued writing her essay, carefully acting as though he was not in front of her. When she went to dip her quill in ink again, his hand encircled her wrist.

"I think you do," He stated and searched her eyes. "It's in your eyes. A sickle for your thoughts?" With a heavy sigh, Hermione opened her mouth and began to speak.

"I'm just thinking of my friends, Harry and Ron. I wish that they were here so much. This is the table where we stayed up all night trying to find a way for Harry to-" Hermione stopped abruptly and her eyes widened. _SHIT!_ _Holy-freaking-shit, I am so freaking screwed, I should not have opened my mouth I should not have said anything and I am so freaking screwed!_

"What's wrong?" Remus inquired, letting go of her wrist and moved around the table so he was next to Hermione. She shook her head, sending her hair flying out around her head with the movement.

"Nothing is wrong." She spilled out hastily and stopped shaking her head, as it was beginning to give her a headache.

"You stopped mid-explanation. No one does that when nothing is wrong." Hermione looked down at her lap and knew that he was right. _Think Hermione, think!_ One of his hands cupped the side of her face and lifted it so he could look her in the eyes. "Come on, Amy. I'm your friend. Friends are here to help."

His words were the breaking point for her. Hermione's eyes watered up and tears spilled over. Her petite body racked with her silent cries and the quill she had been holding dropped onto the table. Remus removed his hand from her cheek and began stroking her back between her shoulder blades. He knelt before her, though was still tall enough to look her eye to eye.

"It's okay," He told her quietly, trying to soothe her. Hermione sat in the chair, doubled over, trying to stifle her sobs. _You're in the library. Stop crying._ "It's okay." He repeated again, continuing to stroke her back.

Eventually her tears subsided and she found herself curled into Remus, one of her hand clutching to the back of his robes. With her other hand, she wiped at her one of eyes, trying to clear away the remains of the salty tears. Before she could repeat the same process with her other eye, Remus raised his hand and wiped away the last of her tears.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, her voice strangled by embarrassment and from her crying. Gathering her senses, she made to push herself out of his strong hold, despite the comfort she felt from him.

"Don't be." He told her, looking down at her and their eyes connected.

Before either of them could clear their thoughts, Remus bent his head down over hers and brushed her lips gently with his.

**Author's Note:** Oh, yay, their first kiss. I hope you guys aren't going to be mad at me or anything… -cowers in a corner-

Reviews and flames appreciated.

I guess I owe you guys an explanation. In the third book it's almost pitch black, right? "_Harry could see Lupin's silhouette._"

**sil·hou·ette **_n._

2. An outline that appears dark against a light background.

My definition of 'seen' is for Hermione to see the details of his transformation – not just the outline. I suppose I should have explained this earlier.

For the part where I said, "She had never seen how he acted when he was a werewolf.", I meant she had never seen it up close. Up close when he was coming after _her._ Also, from what I read in the third book, it lead me to believe that Hermione was watching Pettigrew instead of Remus and Sirius fighting.

So, yeah, Lauren is very sorry for the misunderstanding and sends her apologies. While I'm doing this though, I might as well answer a question I got in my review.

**Anonymous- **Remus was checking Hermione's neck for a bite because that's where I had imagined that her neck was the point he would bite, if he reached her. It makes logical sense to me, but I should have explained that more. I'll do that when I go back and correct this story.

As for why I gave Hermione the name 'Amy'… God, my reason is stupid, but it's the first name that popped into my mind. It's simple so I thought it would be easy for Hermione to remember she's called 'Amy' by the Marauders.

I'm not telling when she meets Lily. If my thinking stays in the same direction, perhaps in the next chapter. As for when she meets Severus… I'll leave that to your imagination.


	8. The Truth Comes Out

**Author's Note:** Wow, I can't believe that this is the seventh chapter… Or eighth, depending on how you want to look at it. Sorry to keep you guys waiting!

**Disclaimer:** Je ne possède rien sauf l'_Harry Potter_.

Changing the Course of Destiny

**Chapter Seven**

Hermione's eyes widened in shock before she closed them and pressed her lips back against Remus'. One of his hands moved to her hair, fingering her soft brown tresses. After what seemed to be hours, he pulled away from the kiss.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Remus muttered quietly with an apologetic look and disentangled his fingers from her hair. He pulled her up into his arms and set her back down into the chair before leaving the library.

Hermione raised two of her fingers to her lips, touching them. They were tingling slightly from the contact they had had with Remus' lips. …_Shit._ _I'm freaking screwed…_ The thought crossed her mind, but she pushed it as far away as she could. Which was not as far away as she hoped.

_Oh Gods, I just kissed my future Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor!_ Her eyes grew wide with shock and her hand dropped to her lap. _Yeah, shit, I'm freaking screwed._

_But, Gods, he is _such_ a wonderful kisser._

_Stop._ She commanded herself. _Stop right there, little miss. You are _not_ going to get involved in _any_ romantic relationship with Remus – Lupin._

As she picked her quill up to resume her work, she couldn't help the thought that trailed across her head. The thought that proclaimed that it was too late.

Several hours passed by with Hermione slaving away on her homework in the library. When she finally looked up at a clock, she realized that it was dinnertime. Quickly, she finished penning the last few sentences of the last essay she had been assigned. Capping the ink bottle, she shoved it, along with the rest of her supplies, into the small bag she had carried with her. Once she had pushed her chair in and made sure that everything appeared exactly the way she had found it, Hermione departed from the Library and headed down the corridors to the Great Hall for dinner.

She was a little apprehensive about seeing Remus after what had happened between them in the Library. A queasy feeling wormed its way into her stomach, making her wonder if it was a sickness or nerves. Deciding on the latter, she took a deep breath, and strode into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table. When she found the Marauders, she sat down in the empty chair next to James; Remus and Sirius sitting across from her.

"Where ya been, Aims?" Sirius asked Hermione while chewing on a mouthful of chicken.

"Oh, I was in the Library working on the essays that we'd been assigned in class." Hermione responded as she pulled a dish of baked potatoes towards her and took one.

"This early?" James protested, looking surprised.

"Today isn't early. In fact, by ordinary people's standards, today would be considered late." Remus interjected his opinion, careful to avoid speaking or looking to Hermione.

"Remus, that hurt." James said, feigning that he was offended. The fake sobs were a dead give away though. "All we ever wanted was for you to accept us the way we are!" He added through his cries and gasps for air.

"Oh, shove it." Remus replied with a roll of his eyes and took a bite of his potato.

"You got burned, Prongs." Sirius smiled at his best friend.

"Why so quiet, Aims? You didn't even crack a smile!" James prodded Hermione in the side. She jumped slightly, in surprise.

"Oh, well, I… My mind was elsewhere." She stuttered out an explanation and kept her eyes lowered to her plate. Remus chanced a glance at her before returning his gaze to his own plate, a faint blush creeping across his cheeks. Sirius and James both exchanged expressions. This would be sorted out later.

"When did you give Amy the name 'Aims', James?" Remus asked as a quick change of the subject.

"We all have nicknames except for her. I thought she might need one… We can change it later, if we find something better."

"Good thinking." Sirius complimented and finished his meal.

"Glad you think so." James replied, flashing a smile, and scraped the last of his meal off his plate. Remus pushed his plate back a minute or so after.

"So what do you all say to going to find Snivellus?" Sirius asked with a smug smile. James nodded in approval and Remus hesitantly agreed also. "You wanna come with, Aims?"

"No, you lot go on, I'm still finishing." Hermione replied, hoping that they would leave her be. Right now she felt that she needed to be alone for a while.

"Okay." Sirius, James, and Remus stood up and strode out of the hall.

Hermione returned her attention to her meal, taking another bite of the baked potato. So, Remus was ignoring the fact that she existed right now. Simply smashing. Although her mind was telling her that it was for the better good – _Really, he's your Professor! –_ she couldn't help the feeling of her heart sinking down to where her stomach resided.

Suddenly, she didn't feel hungry. The potato didn't taste like anything anymore and the weight was hard to swallow. Her hand let go of her fork and it fell to her plate with a loud clatter, but no one noticed. Everyone else was busy talking and arguing with their friends.

Heaving a sigh, Hermione shouldered her bag and strode out of the Great Hall. It crossed her mind that she should probably go to the dormitory to deposit her bag and retire for the evening. But she wasn't ready to sleep yet. She hadn't been ready to actually sleep at all, lately.

Hermione missed Ron and Harry more than words could ever express. It used to annoy her when they didn't do their homework and played Wizard's Chess instead. If it meant that she could see them again, she would be grateful for their company.

She shivered subconsciously and started walking towards the large, oak front doors. It was suffocating in here. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. Before she knew it, she was running towards the doors. Her petite form almost collided with the door before she remembered you had to pull, not push. Shaking, she yanked open the door by its handle and stepped out into the dusk, gasping for air.

Once her lungs were operational, she looked up and scanned the grounds. Her eyes narrowed at the sight a hundred yards away. It was James, Sirius, and Remus. With Snape. It was obvious that they were abusing him; Severus' form doubled over and collapsed.

A fury consumed her that she had only experienced once before. It was the time in her Third Year when she had slapped Draco Malfoy across the face. With determination set on her face, she started running towards the four figures. Even though Professor Snape had been rude to her, there was no way she would let them torture him.

"Stop it!" Hermione shrieked at the seventeen year olds, dropping her bag onto the ground and producing her wand.

Remus jumped and looked at Hermione before lowering his gaze. The other three showed no signs that they had heard her. This angered her even more. She marched up to James, her wand clutched tightly in her hand; her knuckles turning white.

"I said _stop!_" She hissed at James. He looked down at her with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Why?" He asked flatly.

"You're hurting him!"

"That would be the point." Sirius told her. She glared in his direction and he instantly shut up.

"If you do not desist this moment I will-"

"You'll what? Smack me?"

"No! I'll hex you!" Hermione snapped, pointing her wand at him. "Put away your wand." She stated in a low, venomous voice. James looked rather taken aback at this, but did as he was told. She looked rather pissed off at the moment.

"I don't need some filthy mudblood to help me." A deep voice grunted. She turned around, looking at Severus. Hermione had known this was the reaction that she was most likely going to get.

"Don't you call her a mudblood." A quiet, but vehement Remus stated.

"It doesn't matter." Hermione replied, returning her wand to her robes.

"I'll call her whatever I want." Severus snapped, stalking off towards the castle. Both Sirius and James pulled out their wands, their muscles tensed, ready to attack him.

"Leave him alone." Hermione repeated wearily, feeling a wave of tiredness sweep over her. Perhaps all of her days of lost sleep were beginning to catch up. She walked over to the spot where she had dropped her bag in haste and slung it back over her shoulder.

"He's a bastard! He called you a mudblood!" James seethed. "Why did you stop us!"

"Because it was the right thing to do." She answered firmly. "You should go up to the castle and work on your essays, which I assume you haven't finished yet." James' shoulders slumped in defeat and he headed up to the castle, closely followed by Sirius.

"Amy," Remus started hesitantly, looking unsure.

"Yeah?" Hermione inquired, turning to face him.

"A-about earlier today. I realize th-that you probably don't feel the same way and um," He continued on, stuttering. A faint blush spread across his cheeks. "I w-wanted to say that I'm… I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"You don't need to apologise." Hermione replied softly. "It wasn't as if I didn't do anything to you." She found her eyes had averted to the ground and her cheeks felt warm.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Who are Harry and Ron? You don't have to answer, if you don't want to." He added hastily.

Hermione thought about this for a while. She could be continue being vague and mysterious, reply evasively, or… Or tell him the truth. Partial or whole. Her lungs felt constricted again. She didn't like keeping secrets like this from everyone and telling no one. Remus was nice. He wouldn't tell anyone. _I think._

"They… They're my best friends." She started and sat down on the cool grass. Remus sat down in front of her, waiting for more. "Remus… Can you keep a secret for me?" Her eyes glanced up, meeting his. If he was lying, she should be able to see it. But he was honest and it shone in his eyes when he nodded.

"Of course."

"Don't tell anyone. Not even your best friends, Sirius, and James."

"I won't tell anyone, Amy." He assured her.

"My name isn't Amy. It's Hermione. Hermione Granger." Hermione took another breath before continuing. "I'm not a new student. I didn't attend any other Wizarding school than Hogwarts. But you haven't seen me here before now, have you?"

"No." Remus confirmed.

"Exactly. Because I don't belong in this time period. I," Her voice broke for a second. Now was the part where he would deem her to be crazy. "I'm from the future."

"That seems… A bit odd, but it would explain many things." Remus encouraged her to go on with a nod. _So he had noticed my slip-ups._

"Harry and Ron and I, along with other students, created a study group in our Fifth Year. Only it was a secret organization. We called ourselves Dumbledore's Army, or the DA for short and when other students could overhear our conversations. The DA was started because our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was unsatisfactory and we weren't learning anything. Voldemort," Remus shuddered, but Hermione ignored it. "Voldemort had come back into power. The Ministry didn't want to hear any of it. So they sent Dolores Umbridge to be our Defense teacher. Only, like I said before, we didn't learn anything. We did book work, read the theories, but never once practiced the magic itself. You know that the Fifth Year has the O.W.L.s, exams, right?"

"Yeah."

"By her theory, if we read enough about conjuring the spells and read up on the theories they had in the textbook, we should be able to produce the spell perfectly on our first try." Hermione finished indignantly.

"That's messed up." Remus muttered.

"Yes, I know. So, naturally, we needed a place where the teachers couldn't find us. A place where, in particular, Dolores Umbridge couldn't find us and figure out what we were doing. Because it was illegal under an Educational Decree she made.

–_**By Order of –**_

_**The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts**_

_All student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded._

_An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students._

_Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge)._

_No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor._

_Any student found to have formed, or belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four."_

Hermione recited perfectly. It had been the one decree that she had memorized. It had been the one that she had tried to find a loophole in. But there had been no loophole in it. So they had been forced to hold it in secret.

"We used the Room of Requirement as our meeting area. I created fake galleons with a protean charm on them that would become hot when the next date was set. The date was engraved where the serial number on a normal galleon is."

"Genius." Remus breathed appreciatively. Hermione blushed at this, but continued on with her story.

"So the Fifth Year came and went. When the Sixth Year rolled around, our reason for the DA changed. It was no longer practicing for the O.W.L.s so we wouldn't fail. Now it was solely about protecting ourselves from Voldemort and his followers. For that same reason we'd been continuing it ever since.

"And that's how I ended up here. We were having a meeting one night, but it was interrupted. One of the Slytherin students had found out about the meetings. He decided to tell the Ministry that we were plotting against them. They ambushed us.

"I was using my Time Turner to travel back in time to alert someone of the attack, but then Draco Malfoy, Lucius' son, spotted me. He startled me and I switched a setting on it. And now… Here I am." _Falling in love with my ex-Professor._


	9. What's Right Isn't Always What You Want

**Author's Note:** Excuse Number 92730482730: Writers block, insanely late rehearsals for St. Joan, and Honors level homework every night.

Onward.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters in any way. Don't eat me. Please.

Changing the Course of Destiny

Chapter Eight

The Great Hall silenced as Professor Dumbledore stood up and spread his arms wide, commanding the full attention of the entire body of students.

"As a special treat to commemorate this wonderful year that has flown by so quickly, my fellow colleagues and I decided that a school ball would be a pleasant idea. The theme for this function has been decided, and it is to be a masquerade. The entire school is welcome to participate, though it is not mandatory.

However, if you chose to participate, there is one rule that everyone must obey; everyone will come with a mask of some variety that **cannot** be removed until midnight. Also, it is preferable that you do not come with a specific date so no one but you will know your true identity. Understood?"

The Hall echoed with the general consent of the students and Professor Dumbledore smiled.

"Very good. Now, onto smaller details. Dress robes or muggle dresses and tuxedos are the ideal attire for this event. Madam Malkin has been kind to discount all of the dress robes in her store for this special event. I believe that there is a muggle clothing store at the end of Hogsmeade.

"I believe that is all. Off to sleep now." Professor Dumbledore concluded his speech and sat down with the staff.

The Great Hall instantly burst into roars of conversation of the students about the ball as the students stood up and started moving towards the entrance doors.

"A masquerade ball, eh?" James said thoughtfully. "I'll have to ask Lily to go with me."

"James, you heard Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione interjected, with a stern look at James. "You're not supposed to ask anyone specific to go with you to the Ball. I think he's trying to promote inter-House relationships, don't you Remus?"

"Oh, um, yes." Remus replied, though seeming a bit distracted and detached from the conversation.

"He said it was _preferable_, not a requirement." James retorted with a grin, showing his perfectly straight and white teeth. "Aaaaaamy?"

"Yeeeeees?" Hermione responded, mimicking James' speech pattern.

"Would you do me a favour?"

"What kind of favour?" She countered.

"Could you pretty, pretty, please with whip cream and a cherry on top ask Lily to go with me to the ball?" James gushed in one breath, making his words slightly slurred together.

"I don't know, James…" Hermione said, trailing off. " I mean, I don't converse with her beyond 'hello', so it may be difficult to try and persuade her."

"PUHLEEEEEEEZ!" James begged, lacing his fingers together and shaking his hands at Hermione in a gesture of begging. It was blatant that he was trying to make a 'puppy dog' face by attempting to make his eyes look wide and innocent and his lower lip protruding. However, the overall effect was nothing like a 'puppy dog'. In fact, it was so pathetic that Hermione burst out laughing and gave in.

"Okay, okay. I'll try. Just do me one favour, alright?"

"Anything!" James hurriedly agreed, unlacing his fingers and returning to his 'normal' self. Hermione was slightly tempted to make him do something completely outrageous, just because he had agreed to do _anything_ she had wanted him to do. However, she sided with her better judgement and decided not to.

"Never, ever, ever -- under any circumstances - ever again make that face."

"Your wish is my command." James replied promptly, giving Hermione a peck on the cheek due to his overwhelming joy, before dashing into the thick crowd, disappearing quite effectively.

"That was… Thoroughly shocking." Remus said slowly, as if he had just been stupefied.

"I know - I work wonders, don't I?" Hermione asked jokingly with a cheeky grin. Sirius nodded, agreeing.

"Of course you do, Daaaahling." He replied, placing an arm around her shoulders, shooting Remus a smug and triumphant look. Remus heaved a sigh, giving him a stern look.

"Why, thank you, my dear." Hermione spoke with the same, exaggerated air that Sirius had about him. "So," She started, aborting the unusual speech pattern. "What do you guys think of this Masquerade Ball? Are you going to attend?"

"Of course! Just think of all the hot babes that are going to be there in elegant dresses! I bet at least half will be wearing garters under them too." Sirius answered promptly.

"Padfoot! You are suffering from a constant case of GMS." Remus groaned, his hand balling into a fist and colliding gently with Sirius' shoulder.

"GMS?" Hermione questioned.

"Gutter-Mind Syndrome." Sirius supplied. "Well, I guess I will leave you to alone. James and I have got some… Business to attend to. Farewell." With those final words, Sirius departed and left Remus and Hermione on their own.

"So… You still have homework to do?" Remus asked lamely, casting around for a more enticing subject to talk about.

"Yeah. I've got that one essay from Potions. I should go do that. See you later!" Hermione replied hurriedly and dashed off towards the Library, her bag swinging with her steps.

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes tightly before opening them again. How much more of a boring prat could he be? _Homework. Really.._

---

Hermione returned to the seventh year girl's dormitory, setting her bag down by her bed. The door opened and footsteps indicated several other people entering the sleeping quarters. Taking a breath, Hermione looked up to see that it was Lily and two of her friends that Hermione didn't know by name. They were conversing animatedly about one of the guys in the grade. Hermione assumed that one of her friends must have a crush on the boy.

"Hey, Lily?" She questioned, standing upright and sitting on the edge of her bed. The girls stopped their conversation and turned to face her. Hermione had the feeling that her friends were sizing her up; to see if she was worth their precious time or not.

"Yeah?" Lily inquired politely with a small smile.

"You know James Potter, right?" She asked, wondering if that had been the best way to start this off. _James is going to kill me._ And the sigh accompanied with a roll of her eyes from Lily indicated that it probably had not been the wisest of choices to make.

"That insufferable git? Yeah, I know him. He's always trying to hit it off with me." She added with a heavy sigh. "So what about him?"

"Would you go to the Masquerade Ball with him if he asked you?" Hermione inquired, smoothing her uniform's skirt down.

"Did he ask you to ask me for him?" She said flatly, one of her eyebrows raised. She folded her arms across her chest.

"Yes…" Hermione admitted with a sigh, having a feeling that this was not going to end in the way James wanted it to.

"Then tell him that I will most certainly _not_ go with him."

"He's a decent guy, I think you should give him a chance, though. I mean, sure, he's a little… Rough on the edges, but he is a good guy at heart." Hermione said carefully. At least she could tell him that she tried.

"He needs to ask me himself. And he needs to stop bothering Snape. If he does both of those things, I may reconsider." She paused. "I don't believe I got your name…"

"It's Amy. Pleased to meet you." Hermione said with a smile. "If you'll excuse me, I've got some more things to do this evening…" She rose from her perch on the bed and strode out the door.

"I totally cannot believe that you just turned down _James Potter_ for a date to the ball. I mean, sure, we're not supposed to have dates. But it's _James Potter._" One of Lily's friends protested, regarding Lily as though she was worried about her mental health.

"Oh my God, you're totally delusional!" Her other friend added. Lily rolled her eyes, turning away to get her pajamas.

---

"James, you've got your work cut out for you." Hermione said, falling into an empty armchair in front of James'. She let out a sigh, pitying the boy in front of her.

"I take it that she didn't say yes, then… Did she?" He asked miserably, his nervous (but optimistic) mood almost vanishing immediately.

"No, she didn't say yes. She said no," James let out a groan, but Hermione silenced him with a glare and continued on. "_But_ she said that if you stopped bothering Severus," He let out an exasperated noise from the back of his throat. "and if you asked her yourself she would reconsider."

"Alright, thanks Aims." He let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"You're welcome." Hermione replied. Her hands raised to her head and her fingers started messaging her temple. Another deep sigh escaped past her lips and her eyelids fluttered before veiling her eyes.

"You look tired, you should get some sleep." Sirius commented, looking over his Potions textbook at Hermione. She opened her eyes, regarding him warily. "Seriously, Amy."

"Alright." Hermione relented, rising from her seat and smoothing her skirt. "Good night, I'll see you tomorrow." She turned on her heel, walking off towards the girl's dormitory and up the stairs.

---

"Hey, Evans!" James called out, weaving between several students; knocking one over with his bag of books. Lily and her two friends stopped walking and turned around, gazing at James. She sighed heavily and crossed her arms.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked. James stumbled to a halt in front of her; his bag swinging into her. She leapt back and he hastily gave his apologies.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He spluttered repeatedly.

"Stop. It's alright." She said in a strained voice after the fifth time he apologized.

"I, um… Well, I wanted to ask you something." A blush crept up James' cheeks, a rare sight indeed. "Will you… Well, do you want to go to the Masquerade Ball with… Me?" He finished, avoiding her green eyes. She sighed heavily, regarding him for a moment before speaking.

"Alright then."

"Really! Woah, thanks!" His head shot up and a smile spread across his lips; reaching from ear to ear.

"Just don't try to pull anything." She warned, turning away and striding towards the Care of Magical Creatures lesson. James watched her back recede for a while before turning around and pumping his fist into the air with a small jump accompanied with a silent 'YEAH!'.

Sirius strode up to James, clapping him on the back with a 'thud'. "Good job, mate. I always knew that there was no way she could resist your charm." Hermione rolled her eyes at this statement, but it went unnoticed.

"Come on, guys, we've got to get to class." She reminded them with a sigh and offered a flash of a smile to James in congratulations.

"Oh. Class… Right." James repeated. His euphoria from Lily agreeing to go to the ball with him had seemingly worn off.

"Come on, James, cheer up. It's Care of Magical Creatures – nothing too difficult." Sirius reminded James, punching him on the shoulder.

"Oh, right. Cool."

---

"So do you guys have to go to Hogsmeade to get your outfits for the ball or do you have something in mind, already?" James asked around a mouthful of half chewed chicken. Hermione shuddered at the sight, setting down her fork and taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"It'll be easy enough to transfigure something, I'd imagine." Came Sirius' reply and Hermione was thankful that he, unlike James, had swallowed before speaking. "What'd you reckon, Moony?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard." Remus agreed, pushing around the green beans on his plate. He had barely touched his food the entire meal. "I could look up some spells after dinner, I suppose."

"Thanks Moony. We'll come with you, if you want." Of course, James and Sirius would most likely come even if their company wasn't welcomed.

"I don't care either way." He replied, taking a small bite of his vegetables before taking a large swig of his pumpkin juice.

"You coming too, Aims?" James looked over at Hermione, who shook her head; sending her brunette hair flying.

"Oh, no. I've got to finish some last minute work." She pushed her dinner plate back and took a sip of her pumpkin juice. "Speaking of which, I've got to go. See you later, perhaps." Without further adieu she exited the Great Hall.

"Remus, what'd you do?" Sirius asked, looking at his lycan friend with one of his eyebrows raised.

"What do you mean?" He answered with a sigh.

"Well, mate, we couldn't help but notice that she's a little uncomfortable around you…" James added.

"So what'd you do to make her feel that way?" Sirius finished.

"Ikissedher." He muttered under his breath, a brilliant hue of rose spreading across his cheeks.

"Um, what the bloody Hell?"

"I. Kissed. Her." He repeated with a glare at the mischievous pair.

---

Two hours later, Remus was sitting slouched in a chair by the fire with Sirius and James sitting opposite him. The Gryffindor Common Room was filled with the dull roar of talk and frustrated groans accompanied by the scratching of quills, creating the perfect atmosphere to converse without being overheard. Unfortunately, this perfect atmosphere combined with the grilling he was receiving from Sirius and James resulted in a dull headache for Remus.

"Wait wait wait." James held up his hand, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "So then you just, like, kissed her! Right after she apologized for being so emotional and you told her not to be sorry?"

"Yes." Remus replied through gritted teeth. They had been going over this for the past five minutes. He had known James was rather thick, but James had taken that to the next level.

"That's so cliché!" Sirius interjected, smacking his hand down on his knee. "It's like one of those things that you read in romance novels!"

"Not that you've ever read one, of course." Remus added slyly. Sirius opened his mouth and then closed it; words seemed to be failing him right now.

"Well what'd she do when you kissed her?" Sirius asked; the illusion that he appeared to be a fish in water broken.

"She um… Kissed me back." Remus admitted, covering his face with his hand. He had no desire to be teased further by his best friends for blushing.

"Then what the bloody Hell is the problem between you two? You guys should be making out right now and not avoiding each other!" James practically broadcasted to the entire common room.

"Keep your voice down!" Remus hissed, looking around and seeing a couple people turn their heads in their direction. "I don't need everyone knowing that I'm having troubles with my personal life!" He raked a hand through his hair, leaning back in the chair. "She doesn't feel the same way I do."

"Did she explicitly tell you this?" Sirius pressed further.

"Well, no-"

"Then you should stop assuming that." James concluded, cutting Remus off.

"Because remember," Sirius interjected with a grin. "To assume makes an ass out of you and me!"

"Just go be with her." James added after Sirius' comment, for once in his life actually maintaining a serious face after an amusing comment.

"Snog her if it makes you happy." Sirius added and James pressed his lips together.

"You lot are positively horrid." Remus growled, though displaying a flash of a grin. He stood up and strode out of the common room, walking out of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and started off towards the library.

James and Sirius were right. Amy had explicitly said that she didn't have the same feelings -- maybe he did have a chance with her after all. He would go and explain himself to her and everything would work itself out. They could even study together… He approached her chair in the library and sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Hey Amy."

"Oh, hey Remus." Hermione replied, looking up before dipping her quill back into her ebony ink pot and continuing on with her sentence. "Let me finish this essay really quick. Just one more sentence, I promise." She dipped her quill in the pot once again and wrote her last sentence out quickly. Her entire essay was so neat that it almost hurt the eyes to gaze at. Her chocolate eyes shifted their focus onto him. His vocal chords suddenly felt restricted.

"I was wondering how you were." He started, his voice wavering but growing stronger. "We haven't had a chance to catch up in a while."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I've had a lot of homework lately and I needed to get it done." She recorked her ink pot and stowed it in her bag.

"So how've you been?"

"Decent. No more breakdowns, I assure you." She offered a grin and leaned back in her chair. He strode over to her, tilting her head back gently.

"You sure? No tears, no nothing?" He smiled, leaning closer to inspect her face. "Okay, you pass the test."

"Oh, goodie." Hermione answered with a soft laugh, so as to not invoke the wrath of Madame Pince for being too loud.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Remus inquired, shoving his hands into his pockets to conceal his crossed fingers.

"That would be lovely." Hermione replied after a second's thought, to decide that she wasn't going to think about anything anymore. She rolled up her parchment neatly, placing it with care into her bag and then slipping her quill in behind it. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she stood up and followed Remus out of the library and down the grounds.

When they reached the lake, Hermione stowed her bag under a tree. "Aren't you quiet today." 'Amy' remarked casually, a hint of a joke in her voice. Her fingers curled around the edge of her uniform skirt, playing with the material. Normally, she was not a nervous person, but she found that Remus created that feeling in her. It had decreased in intensity for a moment when she had revealed to him about her past – or would that be future – but it returned after their kiss.

"I'm in a quiet mood today. If you want to talk, though…" Remus trailed off, glancing at her. The setting sun's rays were behind her, making her profile outlined in gold. "About anything, then I'll listen."

"I hate how much homework we get." She confessed, drawing the subject back into an area she understood and was willing to talk about. One that made her feel more at ease. "It's like each teacher thinks that their subject is the most important one that you could possibly learn. Sometimes it just makes me want to scream."

"I know the feeling. Almost like you're drowning, right?"

"Exactly. I mean, whatever happened to just being a kid?" She added bitterly and then blushed. "I mean, I know we're seventeen and everything, but… The homework load has always been a lot even when we were younger. Actually, I have to say, I think that… Nevermind."

"No, go on." Remus prompted, wondering if she had been about to bring up the whole future/past ordeal.

"Well… I think you guys get less homework than we do. It's still a lot, though." She relented with a sigh and finished her sentence. If there would be a reason why she wanted to stay in the past, it would be the homework load.

"I can't really comment on that, since I've never been to the future."

"Not yet, at least. You have some growing up to do."

"You mean that you know me in the future?" He asked, wondering if they had a romantic relationship. His mind pushed that idea out quickly, though, because she would still be seventeen in the future and he would be, regrettably, older.

"Yes." Hermione confirmed. _Dammit, why do I keep revealing the future? This is the worst thing that can happen, Dumbledore _said_ that we could not let people in the past know their future._ She ran a hand through her hair. _Then again, the odds of me escaping this era… Are so unlikely._

"Do you want me to stop asking questions?" He asked and she shook her head. "Well… What am I in the future?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you. You're not even supposed to know anything about your future. I screwed this all up." With a frustrated groan, Hermione sank down onto the grass and wrapped her arms around her legs. "But seeing as the odds of me actually returning to the future are just absurdly stacked against me, I guess it would be okay. You're my third year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." _And that's why I can't be with you._

"… You're pulling my leg." He said in a flat voice.

"No, I'm not. I wish… I wish that I was."

"So is this why you're… You've been avoiding me since the incident in the library?"

"Yes." Hermione admitted with a sigh.

"Oh…" He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"So I guess you can see that it's not that… That I don't like you in a romantic way, it's just that… It'd alter our futures and every else's future." _I hate how doing what's right isn't what I want._


End file.
